The Americas

"The Columbian Exchange (e.g., the exchange of fauna, flora, and pathogens) among previously unconnected parts of the world reshaped societies in ways still evident today." (Content Statement - First Global Age)

Historical Fiction

Conley, Robert. War Woman: A Novel of the Real People. St. Martins Press, 1997.
War Woman is a Cherokee woman who leads her people to meet the first Europeans in the area and trades with them. She later helps her tribe deal with the Spanish when gold is discovered on their lands. The fictional tale of War Woman is surrounded by well-researched historical incidents. (Tara)

Dorris, Michael. Morning Girl. Hyperion, 1992.
A double-narrative told in alternating chapters by Morning Girl and her younger brother Star Boy. A coming-of-age novel as the siblings cope with family tragedy, a hurricane, and the arrival of white strangers to their Caribbean island. Grades 5-8. (Vanessa)


Information Books

Mann, Charles C. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. Random House, 2005.
Mann chronicles the new technology and scientific methods that are changing the way researchers see the Americas before the arrival of Europeans. (Tara)

Aronson, Marc. Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado. Clarion Books, 2000.
"Demonstrating the same keen passion for his subject as in his Art Attack, Aronson examines the life of a contradictory and complex Elizabethan figure, both poet and soldier,Sir Walter Ralegh." -Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc (Rachel)